The existing wireless mobile phone infrastructures are implemented in a number of standards including: the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) including its implementation of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) or Code Division Multiplexing Algorithm (CDMA). This infrastructure supports international voice calling within one standard area but does not support mobile phone data transfer. In addition, the existence of multiple standards presents difficulties when a customer using a one standard tries to call a country utilizing another standard. For instance, the majority of the United States utilizes CDMA and Time Division Multiplexing Algorithm (TDMA), while much of Asia and Europe use GSM and GPRS. Therefore, while a US based mobile user can call a land-based phone worldwide, that user cannot access a mobile user in Europe.
The difficulties are compounded when trying to send data rather than voice globally utilizing mobile technology. In those places where a mobile network for data does exist, it has limited speed and span and is not designed for international compatibility. In the CDMA realm, the maximum speed is approximately 64 Kb/sec with reliable data transmission usually utilizing 19.8 Kb/sec. In the GSM realm, 9.6 Kb/sec is the general transmission speed while in the realm of GPRS, general data communication is theoretically possible at 115 Kb/s but in reality is limited to approximately 30 Kb/s, although there are limited areas where higher bandwidths are available. These speeds must be contrasted with the current land data rates of a T1 line of approximately 1.5 Mbits/sec.
The best prospect for increasing this speed is the implementation of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocols and the 3rd generation (3G) infrastructures worldwide. This implementation is delayed waiting for wider implementation of the GSM network and higher speed transmission rates utilizing GPRS over GSM. In addition, implementation of GPRS is delayed by the requirement that the GSM operations cannot be inhibited during GPRS implementation. Currently, the performance of GPRS over GSM is comparable to GSM with conventional data mechanisms because GPRS and GSM share a bandwidth. Even if GPRS did not have performance bottlenecks, the availability of GPRS handsets is limited. Because the majority of users will only start to use data transmission over a mobile network for Emails, they are unlikely to purchase the expensive handsets needed for GPRS. Until performance improves, the added cost of GPRS will not be justified.
Even if GPRS over GSM met performance objectives, the compatibility problems among the GSM, GSM/GPRS and CDMA regions of the world would persist. Handsets designed for one standard are currently not compatible the other standards. Even within the GSM realm, a GPRS compatible handset is limited to that area of GSM coverage that implements GPRS.
One means to supply global communications capability that includes data transmission was built using satellite-based technologies. This system was unsuccessful due to the cost of the satellite network and the cost of the handsets. Therefore, there is a global need for an economical means to transfer data across geographically significant distances from a mobile phone.